Wharton Business Group LLC Sells 290 Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wharton Business Group LLC reduced its holdings in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Free Report) by 4.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 290 shares during the quarter. Wharton Business Group LLC’s holdings in Morgan Stanley were worth $739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Wedbush Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 97.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 6,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Morgan Stanley during the fourth quarter worth about $787,000. FIL Ltd boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 66.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,238,416 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $281,414,000 after buying an additional 892,929 shares during the period. Finally, German American Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Morgan Stanley by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 78,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,882,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares during the period. 84.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Morgan Stanley

In related news, insider Daniel A. Simkowitz sold 29,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.13, for a total transaction of $4,092,770.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 399,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $56,325,688.65. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Charles A. Smith sold 20,000 shares of Morgan Stanley stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.30, for a total value of $2,806,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 119,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,729,231.70. The trade was a 14.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 148,149 shares of company stock worth $20,841,628 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Morgan Stanley Stock Performance

NYSE:MS opened at $140.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $225.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.90, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.32. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.11. Morgan Stanley has a 1-year low of $91.52 and a 1-year high of $145.48.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $16.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.15 billion. Morgan Stanley had a return on equity of 15.33% and a net margin of 13.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Morgan Stanley will post 8.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Morgan Stanley declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, July 1st that allows the company to repurchase $20.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the financial services provider to buy up to 8.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Morgan Stanley Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This is an increase from Morgan Stanley’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. Morgan Stanley’s payout ratio is 45.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $121.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. JMP Securities reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Morgan Stanley in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Erste Group Bank raised Morgan Stanley from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised Morgan Stanley from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $127.00 to $160.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Morgan Stanley from $120.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Morgan Stanley currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.25.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley Company Profile

(Free Report)

Morgan Stanley, a financial holding company, provides various financial products and services to corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. It operates through Institutional Securities, Wealth Management, and Investment Management segments.

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